SINGAPORE
Before we arrived in Singapore, we endured a two day journey from Oslo, Norway! This involved 4 airports, 3 flights, and some surprisingly delicious meals on the plane. Our first flight was from Oslo to Dubai! As we entered the plane, we were reminded of the unfortunate recent presidential election. The world really is watching. We flew to Dubai via Qatar Airlines and got two delicious vegetarian meals on the flight! The Dubai airport was gorgeous. While browsing a store in the airport I again got reminded that when we return to America in March, politics will be much different.
Next, we flew from Dubai to Sri Lanka. This was a bit shorter of a flight, and we received one more vegetarian meal. We were now flying SriLanka airlines. (Qatar Airlines owns Sri Lanka Airlines) The Sri Lanka airport was significantly smaller than the Dubai airport. I was hoping to get some sleep these first two flights or layovers, but it was difficult to find a comfortable position, so as we stepped on to our last plane to Singapore, my eyelids were heavy and I was immensely happy to see the plane was not packed. As soon as it was fully boarded I hopped over to my own row of 3 seats! On this last flight I was finally able to stretch out and get a few ounces of shut-eye.
Upon arriving in Singapore, getting through customs, and making a quick stop at their duty free store to get some Australian beer (we couldn't find any Singapore beer!), we took the MRT (their subway/train/bus system) to our AirBnB to pass out for a good night's sleep. Among the usual no food, no water, no smoking signs on the MRT we saw a no durian sign! This confirms what I've heard about them smelling quite strong. Most signs were in four languages: English, Mandarin, Tamil, and Malay. We stayed in china town and the short 2 block walk from the Chinatown MRT station to the elevator up to our room we must've passed over 30 hawker vendors! Hawkers is what street and/or foodcourt vendors are called in Singapore and Malaysia.
I was instantly excited to try the gorgeous new fruits and pastries. Most nights we ended up getting a broad selection of food from many different vendors and split a mini buffet. Some of my favorites were trying new tropical fruit, the abundance of cheap fresh juice, and all the new spices and other flavors. I looked up some famous dishes in Singapore and one of them was fried carrot cake! I was very interested, so the second night we were there I ordered it. It ended up being fried eggs with white radish! I learned that some people call white radish white carrot.
In the next few days we tried a lot of new foods, visited Gardens by the Bay, visited the Singapore Art Museum, and explored the Singapore Botanical Gardens.
On our way to Gardens By the Bay we walked through the heart of downtown Singapore. There were so many huge buildings in fun shapes, and a huge luxury mall. We walked through it to cool down a bit and take a quick bathroom break. I felt out of place as we passed PRADA, Chanel, Gucci, and other luxury stores. When we finally made it out of the mall we decided to go see the Marina Bay Sands Sky Park on our way to Gardens By The Bay. This Sky Park, atop a luxury hotel, is a very iconic tourist thing to do, so we were a bit torn, but the views from 57 floors up were well worth it. One of the first things we saw at the top was Gardens By The Bay! I had been excited to see these gardens ever since I learned about the solar trees that power all the energy for the gardens and the two massive greenhouses. Learn more about their sustainability efforts here. After consuming the vast views of Singapore from the ocean to the endless towering buildings as far as the eye could see, we went down and walked to the two greenhouses in the gardens. The first greenhouse we visited was called Flower Dome and featured plants from all around the world. I was so excited to see so many new succulents! The second greenhouse was called Cloud Forest and highlighted plant life from tropical highlands up to 2,000 metres above sea level! It was structured with a 35 metre tall faux mountain covered in plants and featuring the world's tallest indoor waterfall. After exploring both greenhouses, we went out to look up at the supertree grove in wonder. Their ingenious design provides space for a vertical garden, shade during the day, soft mood lighting during the night, and solar panels!
The next day, we explored the Singapore Art Museum. The main exhibit they were featuring is the Singapore Biennale 2016: An Atlas of Mirrors. We saw so many amazing pieces, many with a focus on the environment. One of my favorites was an installation piece where the viewer stepped into an alien planet full of spinning mirrors and painted plants. The piece was by Deng Guoyuan titled Noah's Garden II.
Our adventures continued at the Singapore Botanical Gardens. The plants were so gorgeous I had to make an effort to not take too many photos. I greatly enjoyed the brightly colored flowers, impressively large leafs that I could probably use as a blanket, and the pond I sat by that was full of dozens of turtles. Right as I was about to enter their famous orchid greenhouse, the afternoon rain came in and it started to pour. I stayed under shelter for a few minutes, and the decided to pull out my rain coat, put my rain cover on my pack, and go explore the ginger garden in the rain. It was such a magical experience walking through the garden seemingly alone as everyone else took cover. I felt like a kid again, free to explore nature with a fresh and curious perspective. As I was slowly getting soaked, I was having so much fun that I continued to walk around the gardens getting pelted with rain. It felt much to short of a time as we remembered this was our last full day in Singapore! It was such a fascinating introduction to the mix of cultures we will continue to learn about in southeast Asia.
join the movement to REGENERATE THE EARTH
Ever tried eating vegan? Many say it is the most impactful thing an individual can do to mitigate climate change. I encourage you to try eating a vegan meal today! It's much easier than you think, just google some simple vegan recipes or a vegan restaurant near you!
Some of my favorite simple vegan meals are oatmeal with fruit, nuts and chia seeds; pasta with veggies; sweet potato fries with any type of spices; rice and tofu with soysauce; fruit smoothies; toast with banana and peanutbutter, and black bean burgers!
